Childish Innocence with alittle bit of Magic
by Ms.Howthehelldoyouwrite
Summary: Little six year old Merlin meets an energetic nine year old Arthur Pendragon while he's stuck in Camelot's castle during a storm. All they want to do is play a fun game of Prince and the Wizard but little does each other know they are actually exactly what they say they are pretending to be. How will Uther react to this 'playing' and will Arthur find out about Merlin's magic?
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

The afternoon sky was gray, humid, and threatened chance of a storm. This was Gaius' favorite time to do some reading. The town was quiet, for no one would play outside in this weather, the air sweet with the smell of rain, and no one ever seemed to bother him.

Gaius sighed as he settled down in his comfiest chair by the open window that was carrying in a fresh breeze and began reading.

This book was about the Great Purge, a tragic moment in Camelot's history, but important none the less. Gaius knew he would always remember his role in the Great Purge and how he saw all those innocent people die, so he no clue why he continued to read books about it.

Suddenly the door slammed open urgently and Gaius snapped his head up in both fear and surprise.

"I'm sorry did I scare you?"

Gaius gave a smile mixed with friendliness and relief when he realized who it was and placed his book on the table next to him.

"Hunith. What brings you to Camelot?"

Hunith smiled at her old friend and took something down from her back helping it stand up the floor.

"Came for some supplies, but I didn't want to get caught up in the storm that's sure to come…..So I thought why not come and visit you?" Her smile dropped and then she looked at the boy clutching her leg and suddenly smiled again remembering Gaius has never met her son. "This is Merlin, my son." She tugged at the boy's hand that was tightly gripped around hers to bring him to light. "I don't think you've had the pleasure of meeting him"

Gaius smiled a warm smile "No. No I don't think I have."

He squatted down, not without some loud popping from his knees however, and held out a large gentle hand to the boy hiding behind his mother.

"Hi Merlin, I'm Gaius. Don't worry I'm an old friend of your mother's"

Merlin looked up at his mother and she nodded in approval. Merlin slowly reached out his hand holding Gaius' and Gaius began to gently shake his hand with the same warm smile.

"Nice to meet you Merlin"

Merlin finally returned the smile and shook back "Nice to meet you Gaius!"

Gaius was shocked to hear the sudden expressiveness in the boy's voice, but he smiled anyways looking up at Hunith.

"He sure is quick to trust someone"

Hunith laughed "I know. It could get him into a lot of trouble someday"

XXX

Gaius decided to let Hunith and little Merlin stay at his place until the storm ended.

"It's a good thing I made plenty of stew" he chuckled as he scooped three bowls full of homemade vegetable stew and set them on the table for his guests.

"It's not much, but it'll suffice for now" he pointed at a door that up until now Merlin had assumed was a broom closet "you two can share the guest room"

"Thank you" Hunith spoke gratefully watching Merlin search curiously around the room at the jars full of colorful potions.

There was a knock at the door and three pairs of eyes shot to the old wood door.

"Who is it?" asked Gaius, confused as to why anybody would be here with the storm coming.

A little voice yelled from behind the door "Arthur! Papa said I was being annoying and to leave him alone and now I'm bored!"

Merlin sat expressionless starring at the door, but in his mind he was excited to hear what sounded like another boy possibly his age. A _possible _friend.

Gaius opened the door to reveal a cute but square faced boy with a mop of blonde hair smiling at Gaius.

"Arthur…I don't know how you expect me to entertain you."

"Come on Gaius you always have the coolest things to play with and those cool…"

He strayed off as he peeked behind Gaius "Who is she?" he asked gesturing towards the young woman sitting at Gaius' dining table.

"This is Hunith" Hunith nodded her head and Arthur bowed his.

"I'm Arthur. Hi!" he smiled a wide grin causing Hunith to giggle at his childish cuteness making Arthur's cheeks to go red and avert his gaze elsewhere. He decided to settle his sights upon the small boy that sat behind the woman. _Was he always there? _He thought, but decided to shrug off in hopes of befriending this new boy.

He pointed to the pale raven haired boy "Who is that?"

"Arthur, it's not polite to point" Gaius replied.

Arthur almost automatically put his finger down, he didn't need to get in more trouble with his father. "But who is he?" He raised an excited eyebrow "can he play with me?"

Merlin tried his hardest to suppress a giggle. He really wanted to play with this funny boy, but he knew his mother had some sort of rule against strangers and to wary of them.

"This is Merlin, my son." Hunith finally answered after seeing Merlin try not to giggle out of the corner of her eye. She knew he wanted to play with _Arthur, _but she didn't like Merlin playing with new kids she didn't know much about, let alone just met. On top of that there was always the risk of Merlin's little _secret _getting out, and Camelot was the worst place for that to happen.

"Mom? Mom?" A tug on her sleeve summoned her back to reality "can I play with him mom? Pleeeeaaaase?" Merlin flashed her the sweet innocent smile that he slowly learned could bend his mother to let him do whatever he wanted. He didn't like to use this on his mother often, her poor heart didn't deserve it, but in this particular case he was bored and a quick solution to solve it.

Hunith rolled her eyes and smiled, gesturing him to go off. "Be back before dusk"

Before she could even finish the sentence the two boys ran out of Gauis' lab already laughing at their future adventures.

**A/N: This is my first fanfiction so I hope you enjoy! Please rate and comment!**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Merlin. Sorry.**


	2. Chapter 2

2-

"So how old are you?" The blonde asked, walking backwards, with his arms folded over his head.

"Six! Same age as you" Merlin replied with a cheeky grin.

"whaaa?" Arthur halted his walking tilting his head to the right a bit "I'm nine"

Merlin burst out laughing causing Arthur's cheeks to flush, his lower lip protruding into a pout "You're so short for a nine year old! I'm taller than you!" he continued his laughing and Arthur shoved him gently into a nearby wall.

"Shut up! I could still beat you up if I wanted!" Merlin stopped laughing but still held a slight smile on his face and when Arthur finally cooled down enough to notice, he began laughing himself "you're an idiot _Merlin"_

Arthur spun on his heel and began walking, once again leading Merlin down a long hallway decorated with red banners with Camelot's symbolic golden dragon on it. Merlin was enchanted by the bright colors covering the old brick walls; he started daydreaming of someday, when the king came to his senses about how magic wasn't all bad, living here with his mom, and being the Court Warlock. Or…whatever a magician as himself would be called within the round table. "_Maybe Arthur and I could be friends forever then." _He pondered innocently the relationship he and Arthur would have in the future and how much it would grow. He was already thinking of these things even though he just met the blonde.

"Here we are!"

Merlin shook his head of his daydreams and looked up to a smiling boy. "What?" He looked around the large room with amazement "Wow…what is this place?!"

Arthur looked at the raven haired boy at first confused, but then with a sense of pride when he realized he could boast about all his toys.

"It's Camelot's armory of course!" His sudden burst of excitement echoed off the metal shields hanging on the walls. "But that's not what I was going to show you, come on!"

He grabbed Merlin's arm with a sense of urgentness and ran to the corner of the armory stopping in front of a huge blue and red shield.

Merlin eyed the piece suspiciously making sure that he wasn't missing some big hint Arthur was presumably throwing him. When he finally gave up he gave a nervous laugh "haha I like blue too?..."

Arthur looked at him confused for a moment and slowly put two and two together. "No idiot that's not it" He pushes the large shield out of the way revealing a secret passage and puffs his chest out with arrogance "This is it"

Arthur watched as Merlin's expressions changed from utterly baffled to complete awe in hardly a second. He smiled proudly and watched as Merlin quickly shoved his way past him and made his way inside.

"H-Hey! Wait up!" Arthur stepped inside the passageway, pushing the shield back in place, and joined his friend on the other side.

XXX

Arthur's secret room was really dark. The only light visible peered through a vent Merlin assumed connected to one of those decorated halls. He squinted, trying to make his surroundings visible. It may be dark but Merlin wasn't ready to give up on this awesome secret room just yet. His problem was quickly solved when an orange light flooded the room making everything visible. Merlin turned around and saw that Arthur had lit a torch and was now shuffling through things in an old rusty trunk and quickly joined him.

"What's in there?" his eyes darted across all the clothes and toys piled in there and picked up an old blue robe decorated in gold accents.

"A bunch of stuff I collected. It was just gonna be thrown away anyways, so I decided to keep it for playing dress up and stuff" Arthur smiled and pulled out a worn knights cape and tied it around his neck.

"What are you trying to be a knight?" Merlin looked at his friend while struggling to put on the huge robe. Arthur's cape hanged loosely off of him and draped across the floor behind him. _Like a veil. _Merlin attempted to hold back a giggle at this thought because, well…Arthur looked really good in that Camelot red. Almost like it was meant for him.

"Pft. Obviously I am going to be a Prince!" he ended his sentence by placing an old curtain ring on his head that Merlin assumed was supposed to be his crown and laughed.

"Wha? Stop laughing or I'll make you…uhm.." Arthur paused thinking of things he had heard his father say to peasants and when he thought of something plastered a devious smile on his face "I'll make you muck out the stables"

Merlin's nose wrinkled at the thought of that stench; but then from the corner of his eye he saw a pointy blue hat with stars on it that matched his robe and a stick that was meddled into what he imagined as a wand and picked them up from the dirty trunk accessorizing them. He pointed the wand at Arthur with a smile that he tried to make evil but was mostly childish instead.

"Good luck making me do that if I'm a warlock!" Arthur gasped and Merlin flinched a bit. Had he said something wrong? Oh no. He remembered that his mom had said something about how he should never talk about magic in Camelot. Oh he was in big trouble. His stomach tied into a tight knot as he starred at the person he thought was his friend in fear.

"How dare you go against your prince!" Arthur yelled with a playful smile. "You are to be under my command _warlock" _

Merlin was in disbelief. He stood there for a moment feeling a little guilty that he was afraid of his friend for a bit and muttered "prat" with a shake of his head and a chuckle.

Arthur tilted his head to the side a bit confused "what's a prat?"

Merlin didn't really know himself actually. He just remembered his mother saying it to snobbish nobles once they were out of earshot range. If she said it then it must be fine to say.

Merlin tilted his head the same way Arthur did and looked at him with his half evil half childish grin and said "It's an idiot"

Arthur's lips curled as he opened his mouth to object "I'm not the idiot! You're the idiot!"

Merlin laughed and pointed his wand at Arthur "This princely boy is a prat, zip his mouth to show him where he's at!"

Arthur pretended that his mouth became sealed and started chasing Merlin around the room yelling sounds from his closed mouth that Merlin pretended were nice things.

**A/N: Wow! The first chapter was hit for my first fic! Thank you so much you guys! Really it helps me write these chapters! How do you guys like this chapter? Is the length good? Who would you like to see in it? Ugh I'm sorry I have so many questions but I want to impress you guys! On another note I just wanted to say that I plan on updating this story every Saturday (sometimes maybe earlier depending on my motivation :3) Thanks again! Please read and review!**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Merlin **


	3. Chapter 3

3-

Gaius and Hunith were right about the storm; the rain fell in droplets the size of a gold coin and continued to pound on the castle all through the night.

Once Merlin had returned to Gaius' lab at dusk, like his mother had told him, he almost automatically became bored. He had a grand time playing Prince and Warlock with Arthur; unfortunately, they both had to leave once the day threatened night and pouted as they threw their dirty clothes in the trunk and parted ways.

Merlin sighed a long sigh that was much too big for a boy his age and starred at the pouring rain through the window.

"What's the matter pumpkin? You wanting to play outside?" Hunith placed a warm hand on Merlin's shoulder and massaged it a bit.

"No just wanting to play. Adults are no good at that kind of stuff." He added puffing his cheeks and Hunith just laughed.

"Wow you must really like this boy huh?

"Yeah…he was fun…Mama?"

"Yeah?"

"Can I call him my _best _friend?"

"You may not! You've only known him a day!"

Merlin hanged his head low. He knew he had just met the boy but he did truly believe that he was his best friend. _Along with Will of course. _Merlin's face brightened at the thought that someday maybe Will and Arthur could meet and they would all become best friends together. _Like the three musketeers. _He smiled to himself remembering the story that his mom would read him whenever there was a thunder storm. Odd that a rain storm this bad didn't bring thun-

BOOM.

Merlin jolted and hid into his mother's chest. Merlin didn't like thunder storms. He didn't like them at all. Loud noises and surprises scared him. And Thunder was loud and happened at random intervals. He hated it.

"Read me the story mama! Read me the story!" he yelled refusing to let go of his mother.

"Baby I don't have that story with me. We are not at home. I can't."

Merlin loved his mother but right now it kind of sounded like she was listing off excuse after excuse as to why she couldn't cheer him up. His thoughts always turned sour when he was afraid. His mind always tricked him into believing everyone was his enemy, even people like his mother. His mind possessed his body and caused him to throw one of his rare tantrums that caused his mother turmoil.

"You're not even trying! W-we're in Camelot! Maybe they have a library! Yeah…." Merlin stopped his whining and pondered a solution to cure his fear. He always became quite clever when he was scared. "Maybe they have the Three Musketeers!" He shouted with excitement and burst out of the guest room to tug on Gaius' sleeve. "Excuse me, does Camelot have a library?"

"Why yes she does. My dear friend Georg is the keeper of the books there. Old, but a nice man, why do you ask?"

"Where is it?" Merlin did not have time for formal manners. All he wanted to do was to get that book and settle his nerves, so he could fall asleep and finally get to tomorrow, where maybe he'll get to play with Arthur again. Arthur, he thought, _maybe I'll run into him on my way to the library and share my favorite book with him._

"In the basement of the west wing?" Gaius lifted a brow at the child's eagerness.

"Thanks Gaius!" Merlin ran off out the door and Gaius looked to Hunith for some sort of answer. She sat of the steep stair steps leading up to the guest room with her lips pressed into a thin line.

"Children" she finally muttered and she and Gaius both laughed in unison.

XXX

Merlin rushed to the west wing of the castle and climbed down a set of stairs that would have to have led to the library if Gaius gave him the right directions. He stopped in his tracks and looked around at the dusty books with a wide smile. _There are so many books here!_ He thought and started searching through the books on the nearest shelf. Behind him he heard someone clear his throat and Merlin slowly turned around to face the old man who must have been Gaius' friend, Georg.

"Can I help you young sir"

Merlin flushed nervously "I'm looking for The Three Musketeers….do you have it?"

Georg answered in a shaky old voice that almost sounded bored "Why yes we do. It is in the third row somewhere"

"Thank you…" Merlin walked off quietly. Usually he was a little friendlier and louder around adults but Georg was kind of judgmental looking and Merlin always felt the need to make some sort of a good impression on people, especially adults. He was also in a library too, and his mother had always told him that it was mandatory to be quiet in these places, or else. He made his way over to the third row of bookshelves and started searching for his favorite book. He searched for a good five minutes until he remembered that he didn't know how to read yet. His mother always read it to him, so how would he find his book if he couldn't read the title? He could ask Georg, but frankly the old man scared him. But then he heard a pouty and arrogant voice that sounded familiar.

"Stupid freakin' Georg. I know how to write. Why do I have to practice? Blah."

Merlin smiled big and made his way around the corner of the bookshelf into a small clearing in the library with a huge desk planted in the middle. The blonde boy accompanying the desk looked much smaller sitting in the dark wood of the large desk.

He snuck up to the desk and popped his head over the edge and cried "BOO!"

Arthur nearly jumped out of skin and was ready to run off, but instead of running he decided to throw his pen at Merlin in defense.

"Owie" Merlin stood up rubbing his nose where the pen had hit him. "That hurt meanie head"

"Then don't scare me like that idiot!" Arthur shouted and in the distance the two boys could hear Georg spit a loud SHH.

Merlin and Arthur both silenced and declined their voices into whispers.

"What are you doing here Merlin? I thought you had to go home?"

"I did but…" He paused thinking of what to say next. He didn't want to tell Arthur that he was afraid of thunder and that only his mom reading the Three Musketeers could put him to sleep. "My mom asked me to find her a book…." _Yeah good one Merlin. _He tried to hide his delight that he was able to come up with a half lie that didn't make him sound like a weakling. He was usually really bad at lying to his friends, so he covered up his happiness with a question "what about you? Didn't you have to leave too?"

Arthur tapped his index finger on the page in front of him "This was what I had to leave for. I have lessons every other day at dusk"

Merlin looked at the page. It was covered in words. Words? Wait, Arthur could read?!

"Whoa! You can read that?!" Merlin jumped excitedly. His new friend was a genius. He stopped jumping when he heard Georg shush him again.

"Of course I can read it. I wrote it" Arthur boasted seeing how impressed the raven haired boy was of him.

Merlin's eyes sparkled in astonishment and he pointed at a word at the bottom of the page "What does that say?"

"That's my name. Arthur P-" he was abruptly interrupted with an electrified response from Merlin.

"Wow you can write your own name? That's so cool!" He whispered loudly while looking up at Arthur, and Arthur flushed. "Can you write my name too?" He asked with a polite smile.

"Uhm…sure" Arthur gave him a nervous smile and picked up his pen and carefully wrote out Merlin's name in his best calligraphy while sounding out the letters "Mm, ee, er, l, in. Merlin" he tore out the strip of paper with Merlin's name on it and gave it to him and Merlin's eyes glowed.

"Thank you Arthur! You are so smart! I'll keep this forever! This is so cool thank you!" He hugged the paper to his chest and Arthur rubbed the back of his head, his face pink.

"Seriously it is no big deal…" Suddenly Georg appeared from around the corner.

"Young man, you have shouted in my library for the last time please leave"

Merlin looked at Arthur one last time with a thankful smile and disappeared behind the selves with Georg. Arthur sat down, sighed, and continued with his studies, already excited to play with Merlin tomorrow. He truly was starting to believe that Merlin was his best friend.

XXX

Merlin returned to Gaius' lab, bookless, but hugging the piece of paper to his chest with a big smile on his face.

"Hey! Did you find the book?" His mother asked, glad her boy was finally back, dusting off his shoulders.

"Wha?" Merlin looked at his mom and stood there astonished. He forgot to get the book and now he'll be forced to tell her why.

"What's that in your hand?" Hunith grabbed the slip of paper out of Merlin's hands and read it.

"I met Arthur while I was in the library. He was studying how to read and write and wrote my name for me! Isn't it cool?!" He asked shaking his head up and down hoping his mother would agree with him, but her face never changed from that thin line.

"Merlin honey, it's getting late why don't you head up to bed?" she stood up slowly and gently pushed her son in the direction of the guest room by the small of his back. She watched Merlin until he eventually made his way to the guest room and closed the door with a soft creak, and then turned to Gaius holding up the slip of paper.

"He is educated Gaius. Arthur is educated enough to read and write at his age. Why is he educated Gaius? What are you not telling me?" Hunith glared at Gaius. Usually if a child was educated enough by the age of 12 to read and write, they were of noble decent. Which didn't bother Hunith as long as they weren't snobbish and didn't harm her son in anyway. But Arthur, Arthur was only about Merlin's age and could already read and write. That was not normal.

Gaius sighed and leaned against a nearby table. "Are you sure you want to know the truth?" He starred hard at Hunith watching her heart and mind battle it out on her expressions.

She put the piece of paper down on a counter and plopped herself down on a bench. Once she finally settled she murmured out the word "Yes."

Gaius swallowed and started to feel a little guilty. "The boy's full name is Arthur _Pendragon."_

Hunith's eyes shot up to Gaius to make sure he wasn't toying with her and he gently nodded to confirm he wasn't.

"The boy my Merlin is playing with is the prince of Camelot….that's not good"

**A/N: The second chapter was a hit! Thank you so much you guys! I got so many reviews and it made me so happy I wanted to cry! I wanted to update the story yesterday for a Valentine's Day present from me to you, but I had no idea where I wanted to go with this chapter. I finally figured it out after worrying about how I needed to continue to please you guys! This chapter is also a bit longer then the first two so please tell me if you like it! Please continue to read and review!**

**Disclaimer: Still don't own Merlin, also I'm not actually sure if The Three Musketeers was a book in the time of Camelot, just thought it'd be cute.**


	4. Chapter 4

4-

Hunith tapped her index finger against her temple until it was red. She had hoped that a long night's sleep might have calmed her nerves of the news she had received the following night, but it did not. She was still figuring out what to say to her little baby that did not involve somehow harming his feelings. She couldn't just outright tell him to stop playing with Arthur; she would have to give him some sort of reason. And it wasn't like she disliked Arthur by any means; he was a well behaved boy, and if he were a peasant or even a noble Hunith would have let them play their hearts out, but he was the _Prince. _And the prince of the magic hating good for nothing Camelot. Oh if only this damned storm would end soon so they could head home.

"Mama?" A sleepy Merlin sat up on the bed rubbing his eyes with a wide yawn "Good Morning Mama"

Hunith smiled gently at Merlin, oh how she adored him "Good Morning my sunshine"

Merlin giggled softly and then whined "Mama, you can just call me Merlin you know. That's the name you gave me"

"You have too many names that describe how perfect you are to me!" And to that Hunith started to tickle Merlin, smiling at the boys high pitch giggles that begged for mercy.

Suddenly there was a knock at the door, and Hunith was forced to stop tickling the defenseless Merlin.

"Come in" Hunith sat up on the bed pulling Merlin into her lap as Gaius' friendly face appeared in the doorway.

Hunith smiled "How can I help you?"

Gaius gave Hunith a look that told her to brace herself and turned to Merlin "Arthur's here for you."

Merlin's expression instantly brightened and he stood up on his knees facing his mom.

"Can I go play with him mom? Please. Please. Pleeeeaaaase?" He bounced giving his mom his pouty face he knew would win her over. He was starting to sense that his mom was starting to dislike Arthur or something, which was a shame because, well, Merlin did not.

Merlin saw his mom pause in thought and knew she was trying to find a polite way to say no. His pouty face didn't work? But it always worked? Merlin's panic forced out his next words.

"Why don't you like Arthur mom?"

Hunith starred at her son shocked. How could he have sensed that? Was it written on her face so obviously? His voice was so low too that she shivered partly in fear. All Hunith could do was sit there with her mouth gapping.

Gaius cleared his throat to gain Hunith's attention. When she finally returned from her daze she starred at Gaius in defeat hoping he would give her some solid response to tell Merlin. All Gaius did was mouth the words _Let him play with him _shrugged and added _it can't hurt._

Hunith nodded obediently and turned back to her son nodding in the direction of the door, and Merlin without a second thought grabbed his coat and ran out after his friend. She watched him leave in a hurry, eyes glossy, and realized as soon as he was out the door that the only reason Gaius would say such a thing as to let Merlin play with Arthur is because he did not know Merlin's secret. She would have to tell him. Have to let him know her reasoning.

XXX

Merlin laughed constantly while walking through the hallways with Arthur. He had too much fun with the boy even though they only became friends yesterday.

"Are we gonna play prince and warlock again today?" Merlin managed to stutter through his giggling.

"Only if you promise to obey me this time" Arthur spun around to show Merlin the playful smile etched on his face. And Merlin's giggles got louder.

"I will never obey you, you _royal prat."_ Merlin tried his best to imitate the way Georg spit his words to try and rile Arthur up, but he put too much emphasis on 'prat' causing himself to spit all over himself.

Arthur erupted in a taunting laughter that echoed through the halls. Merlin blushed and wiped the spit away from his chin. He was quite embarrassed at what just happened and the fact that Arthur, his so called friend, was laughing at him didn't really help either. Merlin's face continued to redden as he listened to the boy's awful laughter that was directed at him. He needed to shut him up. He needed to shut him up now. Merlin glared at Arthur and his eyes started to tinge with gold…

"WHAT on earth is so funny Arthur? The whole kingdom can hear you!" Merlin snapped out of his reverie. What was he about to do to Arthur? He shook his head, for he really did not want to let his imagination decide for him. Arthur's his friend, he should, would never harm him. He was thankful someone came to interrupt whatever was bound to happen and decided to give them his attention. Suddenly Arthur moaned.

"Nothing you need to be concerned with _Morgana" _

_Morgana?_ Merlin thought. _But isn't that a girl's nam-_

Merlin instantly cut off his train of thought to stare at the _girl _in front of him. He stood where he was petrified. Merlin was not very good at talking to girls. None of the girls in his village ever talked to him and when they did Merlin always tended to babble off the weirdest things like "Don't you have cooties?" and "if I touch you will I become a girl?" Girls were gross, that was his thought process on it, but his mom always told him that this was a phase and that he will eventually grow to like girls and that this was actually him being nervous.

"Pretty sure the whole castle is concerned by now" the dark haired girl tapped her foot impatiently and set her sights on Merlin.

"Is this what you were laughing at?" she eyed Merlin with a devious smile that made him shiver "I can see why you were laughing"

Morgana laughed at her own joke while Arthur bit his cheek in disgust and Merlin pouted.

"Go away Morgana we were playing" Arthur crossed his arms hoping that that would somehow convince Morgana to go away.

Morgana stopped her laughing and suddenly became interested in what Arthur was saying.

"Can I play too?"

To that question both Arthur and Merlin crinkled their noses in objection, looked at each other, and shook their heads in disapproval.

"Sorry only men are allowed to play" Arthur finally responded.

Morgana snorted "Ha! Where's the men? All I see are a couple of boys who are afraid to play with a girl!"

Arthur's face began to redden and Merlin could almost feel the steam coming off of him. They were obviously not on good terms with each other. But if they hated each other so much why did they act so friendly? Merlin thought it over and sighed when he realized that they must be siblings.

"If I can't play with you I'll tell father"

A daddy's girl. Great. Well at least Merlin knew for sure they were siblings now.

"Fine you can play with us! But stay out of our way!" Arthur muffled through his angry fumes.

Morgana puffed her cheeks with pleasure and gestured Arthur to lead the way, in which Arthur took up hesitantly. She then quickly followed behind at Arthur's left, Merlin at his right and finally comprehended that she had no idea what they were planning on playing.

"Soooo…what are we playing?" She asked starring at an annoyed Arthur and Merlin.

"Prince and Warlock. You can be whatever you want to be I guess" Arthur continued in protest.

"Ha! Let me guess you're the Prince?"

"Shut it Morgana"

Morgana laughed and looked to Merlin like she expected him to laugh with her, but when he didn't she started tsking and Arthur studied her suspiciously. Merlin was perplexed as to why she was tsking and was ready to finally speak up.

"What?" Arthur asked the question before Merlin did.

Morgana giggled again "That must mean he's the Warlock huh? I wonder what father would say about that."

She smiled a wry smile that pissed off Arthur, and Merlin watched even more perplexed than he was at Morgana's tsking. Why would their father get angry at him 'playing' a warlock? Was his father against magic or something? Merlin decided to shrug it off and ask Arthur about it later when Morgana was gone.

Surprisingly, Arthur kept his cool; although, Merlin felt he kind of had to or else something bad would happen at Morgana's hand. The three of them strolled their way to Camelot's armory, made their way inside the secret room, and prepared for a long day of playing.

**A/N: Wow four chapters already! That's crazy! You know what else is crazy? The fact that my computer crashed and caused all my documents and pictures to disappear! Luckily I saved most of my stuff to SkyDrive so all the meaningful stuff wasn't erased to celebrate that this story was saved, if I get 10 reviews on this chapter by noon tomorrow I will post the next chapter tomorrow! Thank you for continuing to read and follow!**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Merlin still.**


	5. Chapter 5

5-

"Gaius?" Hunith finally managed to mumble out after what seemed like an hour of silence trying to find the right words to say about Merlin.

Gaius turned to Hunith, giving her his full attention, and frowned. Hunith was worried, and Gaius could tell. It was all over her appearance; the way her usually straight posture was now bent at a strange angle, how her fingers kept scratching an itch on her right arm that wasn't there. But the one aspect that frightened Gaius the most however, was how he could almost visibly see a dark cloud of gloom twirling about Hunith seductively. And on top of that, the light struck her in such a way as to sharpen her every bone that protruded from her starving body. She looked like the essence of poverty.

Gaius placed the vial he was holding on the table and went to go sit by his friend. He sat down and rubbed her shoulder with a kind hand.

"What's bothering you dear?" He mumbled in a soft tone.

"It's just…I need…" She sighed loudly "I need to tell you something about Merlin. Tell you why I am not wanting him to play with Arthur…"

Gaius raised a brow to this, trying to seem more confused than he was curious. He had started to see that she was weary of the prince, but once she actually found out he was _the prince _he began to worry as to why she seemed to hate him. He wasn't all that annoying, well, on his good days at least.

"It's not that I don't like Arthur, I mean, he's a good kid and all..."

_Okay, so maybe she didn't hate the prince. But then why would she not want him to play with Merlin? Did she hate nobles?_

"It's just that…he's the Prince of Camelot…"

_I guess that she does hate nobles._

"I mean, I don't have anything against nobles"

_What? Then what's the issue here?_

"Just…Camelot has banned magic and anyone who possesses magic…" She looked at Gaius hoping his old mind could figure out this hint. And when he starred at her blankly, obviously lost in thought, she pushed her face forward a bit giving him a look of 'think about it'.

Gaius blinked and rubbed his hands together as he realized what she had meant.

"My oh my, well that doesn't seem good at all" he starred intensely at his old callused hands then turned to look at Hunith.

"I think I understand why you were driving yourself up the wall earlier" Gaius was trying to lighten the mood as they thought of what to do. Hunith laughed a bit at the kind gesture and leaned against the wall behind her.

"Gaius…what am I going to do? He really likes playing with Arthur…"

"Who really likes playing with Arthur?"

Gaius froze and looked at Hunith in utter fear. She starred at him with confusion until she recognized the problem.

Of course the King of Camelot would have to walk in right then.

XXX

"Morgana! That's my sword!" Arthur whined and took the wooden sword from Morgana's hands.

"Arthur! I wanna be a knight! And knights need swords!" Morgana was already in the old dress wear for the part of a knight. She loved sword fighting and the thoughts of adventures, so naturally, and because Arthur said she could be whatever she wanted, she decided to be a knight. She tugged on the sword, trying to pry it free from Arthur's hands, but Arthur wouldn't let her take over.

"You have to be a boy to be a knight dimwit!" he pulled on the sword. He was not going to let her win this battle, she had already frustrated him by taking his cape and now she was trying to steal his sword.

"Unbelievable!" Morgana released the sword from her grasp laughing as she watched Arthur fall to the floor with a loud thud that would most likely leave a bruise on his tailbone.

"Can't believe you fell for that!" Arthur glared at her while she laughed and looked over at Merlin who was sitting in the corner equally pissed. Merlin was already in his full warlock attire and was waiting for Arthur to get in his half prince half Camelot knight apparel. But that was made impossible but this control freak of a girl. _Ugh. _He thought, _girls are so annoying._

Arthur sighed, got up, dusting his pants off with just as dirty hands, and when he finally gained enough composure, winked at Merlin to tell him to 'watch this'. He needed to cheer Merlin up, and the only way he could think of doing that right now was to rid of Morgana.

"Fine, fine, fine. You can be a knight. But if you are going to be a knight you've got to go through all the training first!" Arthur smiled and Merlin looked at him like he was the definition of an idiot, which surprised him because usually he was the definition according to Arthur. How was knightly training supposed to help solve their issue at all? Morgana was obviously a stuck up, whiney, but mostly stubborn _girl, _and swinging a sword around would just add to her amusement, not make her go away.

"Arthur this is playing, I don't need to go through knights training." Morgana scraped the floor with the tip of the sword causing a high screech that made Merlin's ears want to run away.

"Ah but you see Morgana…" he paused and looked at Merlin hoping he would join in but quickly continued "Merlin and I here play it like it is. And what Knights are, is based on their training" Merlin giggled as he finally figured out what Arthur was up to. He was starting to be able to read him like a book, if he could read a book that is.

"Well don't play it like it is and just simply skip to the part where I am already apart of the knights" Morgana pointed the sword at Arthur's throat, like she had seen plenty of knights and thieves do before.

"Are you disobeying your crowned prince?!" Him and Merlin both gasped, looked at each other with a quick giggle, and then back at Morgana.

"I will have you removed from the knights if you can't learn to hold your tongue!"

"What?! But this is pretend!" Morgana protested, hanging her arms to her sides.

Arthur shrugged with a smug grin on his face "Is it though?"

Merlin tried his hardest not to laugh at how red in the face Morgana was getting. She almost matched the stolen cape she was wearing. She was losing this fight and was frustrated, and Merlin loved it. He loved it because he liked watching drama unfold, and he would always root for his friends over girls; but it was also partially because she had made fun of him in more ways than one and now wanted revenge.

"You guys are so mean!" Morgana ferociously tore off the knights clothing she was wearing, throwing them at Arthur "You're doing this on purpose!"

Arthur easily dodged the projectiles, keeping a calm face, and amazing Merlin. He was slowly training to become a knight himself, so he would naturally be able to dodge these simple things. It was almost like Morgana wasn't even trying to harm him.

"I'm just going to go play with my own friends! And-and just you watch! You're going to be jealous of the fun I'm having over you two!" She then picked up the silly sword she was stupidly fighting over and dramatically, and as loudly as possible, through it into the dumb old trunk, lifted her skirt, and walked out in a hurry closing the shield door behind her.

Merlin looked at the mess around the room and then turned to Arthur with a wide grin across his face. Arthur, who almost seemed to know Merlin was staring at him, turned to look at him too, and after a short time, they both burst out into a laughter that shook the shields on the wall.

**A/N: Sooo I only got 6 reviews on the last chapter, but six is better than none! I'm so happy for all the people who continue to review and follow this story! :'D I hope you can feel my gratefulness through the screen! This chapter was a little hard to write but mainly because I was contemplating whether to finish a drawing, do homework, or write this fanfic…So I worked on cosplay instead! Anyways, Please continue to read and review this story, it lifts my spirits! **

**Quick Question: Do you think Uther would flirt with Hunith? **

**Disclaimer: You know.**


	6. Chapter 6

6-

"Who really likes playing with Arthur?"

The words seemed to echo painfully within Hunith's head. What was she supposed to say to that? _Oh you know, my son Merlin who is a peasant like me. _She might have well had told the king that Merlin possessed magic, the king was snobbish enough to not let Merlin play with Arthur either way, peasant or not, so what was she supposed to say? The only way Merlin would ever be allowed near Arthur if the king found out that Merlin was a peasant, was if he was Arthur's servant or something, but that would never happen. Hunith wouldn't allow it.

Gaius sat up preparing himself to reply but was quickly silenced by a raised hand and a confused but seductive look from the King. Not to him, thank the lord, but something behind him…Oh no.

"Now who is this pretty young lady?" Uther knelt down on one knee and kissed Hunith's hand to which she struggled to not look disgusted.

"Hunith, your highness" she didn't flinch to bow or even smile to him, she would definitely have to wash her hand later.

Uther looked up at Hunith and when he saw that her face had the serious look of "piss of" he stood up starring at her disappointedly.

She wouldn't have that look because he was losing his charm, no, he was to good looking to not have wooed a peasant girl, this woman obviously had some sort of deep rooted hatred for him. Uther began to ponder why anyone would hate him. He was, and always will be, a fair king. He was accepting of everyone except for some peasants, most of the other kingdoms, homosexuals, and magic users. His face twisted when he thought of the word _magic. _Magic was evil, magic is evil, magic is…He paused and looked at Hunith. Maybe she hated him because she was a _magic _user and was out to get him.

Uther glared at Hunith and Gaius watched the whole scene confused. Uther shifted his weight to his left leg and starred hard at Hunith.

"What brings you to Camelot _Miss?" _He hissed out the 'miss' to make sure she knew that they were no longer on friendly terms, make sure she knew he was on to her.

"For supplies sir, I didn't want to get caught up in a storm, so I stopped by here." She made sure not to mention her son. She felt like this conversation was quickly going downhill, and if the King ended up doing something to her she didn't want Merlin caught up in it too.

"Supplies for what?" Uther crossed his arms and Gaius raised a brow. What was the King trying to get at?

"Just regular supplies. Food, seeds, and blankets."

"Really? No _magic items?"_

Hunith grinded her teeth and Gaius' eyebrows shot to the ceiling. Was he seriously trying to prosecute Hunith for being a witch just because she rejected his flirting?

"No magic items sire" Hunith tried to hold a poker face towards Uther, but she was pretty sure that she was glaring at him intensely.

"What makes you think I should believe that?" Gaius looked at Hunith with a worried expression. He was hoping for her sake that Uther wasn't going to look through her shopping bag. While Merlin was playing with Arthur the first day Hunith had arrived, Hunith had shown Gaius an enchanted bracelet she had bought in the market that was supposed to bring good luck. If the king were to have found that, who knows what he would've done.

"You're just going to have to take my word for it"

Gaius shook his head and rubbed his temple. _Good job Hunith. Now a search is inevitable. The King thinks that that whole sentence you just said is the most untrustworthy sentence anybody could say._

Uther's expression changed to an ugly grimace. "Let me see your bags _Hunith"_

Hunith felt a shot of fear run through her like she was struck by lightning. She got up as calmly as she could and slowly walked into her room to grab the bags. She needed to hide that bracelet. She bent over the bags pretending like she was going to grab them and looked over to see if Uther was still starring at her. He was. She gulped and looked down at the lucky bracelet that was conveniently at the very top of the supplies. There was no way she could hide this. Hunith went to reach for the bag handle and noticed that her hand was shaking violently. She looked at Gaius for help and the old man attempted to get up but Uther pushed him down and stomped into the room looking into the bag and automatically spotting the enchanted bracelet.

"LIAR!" He yelled grabbing Hunith by the wrist. "Guards! Come here! Arrest this woman for possession of magical items!"

Camelot guards quickly marched into the room snatching Hunith up by her arms and legs.

"Nooo! Please! You can't do this! It's only a bracelet!" Hunith screamed and Gaius watched the scene with wide eyes and quickly stood up.

"Sire please, it is only but a bracelet"

Uther stomped over to Gaius and shoved a gloved finger in his face.

"Be quiet or I'll have you arrested for housing a magic user!" He turned to his guards "Take her away!"

The guards began dragging Hunith out of the laboratory, Hunith screaming. Gaius covered his mouth and wanted to cry. It was like the great purge all over again...another close person to him was being taken from him, just like Alice.

Quicker than he had appeared, Uther left the room trailing his new prisoner.

XXX

Merlin and Arthur had paused their playing for a lunch break. When Arthur's stomach sounded like a growling dragon in a cave, Merlin had suggested that Arthur go get some lunch while he waited. Arthur had promised that he would bring Merlin some food, so he really didn't need to go back to Gaius and his mother for anything. Plus, he was afraid that if he tried to go back his mother would halt his playing, and he couldn't allow that.

"Hmm…I wonder if there is anything else in here?" Merlin had been waiting for a good ten minutes for Arthur to return, but in kid time it felt like an hour. He grew bored so easily, so he figured that while he waited he should try and see what else was in that dusty trunk of Arthur's.

He shuffled through the piles of faded clothes in the trunk hoping that something useful or cool would catch his eye. Then, he found it. How had he not seen this awesome accessory before? He held it up to the light to get a better look at it.

Yep, it was a virtutem annuli, or loosely translated, a power ring, a magical item. Merlin was too excited that he had found a power ring to even question why Arthur would have one. Arthur probably didn't even know what it was, but Merlin did, and Merlin was excited. This ring had the ability to help increase and control one's magic ability. Merlin had one for a while, but someone had stolen it from him when he was about five. That didn't matter to him anymore though; he could control his magic perfectly now, but with this ring he could pull off even greater tricks. Maybe even tricks to impress Arthur with.

Merlin giggled. Did he really enjoy Arthur's company so much as to want to show him his biggest secret? He hugged the ring to his chest and decided yes.

Suddenly he heard the shield shift as a flood of pale light gathered in the room.

"Arthur!" Merlin perked, happy his friend was back, but also because he was hungry.

Arthur walked into the room carrying a tray full of food and set it on the ground in front of Merlin.

"Bon appetite!"

Merlin smiled his cute but amazed smile and looked up at Arthur while grabbing a slice of meat.

"What's Bone appi-tit mean?" He shoved the piece of meat in his mouth and gawked at how good it tasted. He was pretty sure he had never tasted such delicious food, and was pretty sure he would never taste it again. So when Arthur turned his back he stuffed several pieces of the meat in his pocket.

"Bon appetite. It's French for have a good meal or something" Arthur mumbled while closing the door and then returning to his friend.

"Wow! You know French too?!" Merlin's tiny cheeks were stuffed with the different foods Arthur had brought.

Arthur laughed a bit, partly at Merlin, not just because he was embarrassed or anything.

"Only a little bit" Arthur looked down at the tray blushing and then became wide eyed.

"Hey! You hardly saved any food for me!" He quickly grabbed an apple off the tray just in case Merlin tried to, but Merlin just giggled.

"Sorry, I've never had such great food before!"

Arthur starred at Merlin puzzled.

"What kind of food do you eat then?"

Merlin returned Arthur's puzzled look.

"Stuff like rice and eggs mixed together…why?" Merlin thought about it and then scanned Arthur thoroughly. How had he not noticed it before? Arthur was so obviously educated.

"You must be a noble then, huh?"

Arthur was perplexed by the question and was about to ask 'are you not?' but quickly realized that that was stupid. It was obvious by Merlin's clothes that he wasn't a noble, and he didn't want to bring up a question that might potentially hurt Merlin's feelings. He didn't care he was playing with a peasant, for all he had witnessed thus far in his life he actually preferred the company of peasants. They were kinder and way more entertaining. They had everything that Arthur wanted which was mainly a family who cared. Sure it was cool that they always held some big knight's tournament every time Arthur gained a year in age. But to him, it was lonesome. His father didn't care about him, only the fame that he may achieve one day, always reminding him during the tournaments 'soon you'll be able to fight in these, and you will be the champion'. Sometimes his princely responsibility weighed down on him so much it caused him nightmares. All he wanted was a group of people who actually cared about him to celebrate his birthday and make him feel happy he was growing up, not sad.

He erased his mind of the bad thoughts and shrugged.

"Yeah and what of it? Doesn't mean I find myself superior" Arthur took a large bite of his apple starring off into the distance with a hint of sadness in his eyes, and Merlin smiled at him.

_Yeah, he is definitely my best friend._

**A/N: Thank you to everyone who gave their opinion on Uther's flirting! There was a lot of mixed opinions, so I just decided to write it with a little bit of flirting and then just Uther's snobbish attitude. Really snobbish…;P Hope you liked it! (and sorry for the mush in Arthur's backstory, it ended up being a lot sadder than I anticipated) In ironic news, I just got an invitation to Pratt University. Not only is this ironic because I am writing this fanfic, but also because I am cosplaying Fem! Arthur…anyways just thought that was kind of funny! Please continue to read & review!**

**Disclaimer: You know the drill.**

**Fun Fact: It isn't really a fun fact I just wanted to get your attention to tell you that, if you're interested, I wrote a cute little Arthur x Merlin one-shot called "It's reallyreally cold" check it out if you like! (It's not smut just cuddling :D)**


	7. Chapter 7

7-

Merlin and Arthur were playing their classic game of Prince and Warlock. The boys were laughing as they pretended to fight each other, and Merlin readied himself to cast a fake spell on Arthur; but he was interrupted by a loud scream that echoed through the room. Merlin looked around the room to try and find the direction of the scream until he focused on a vent leading to one of Camelot's hallways and starred at it in both fear and surprise. From what he gathered, Camelot was a pretty well behaved kingdom, and a bit boring in the terms of interesting events happening. But that was Merlin's opinion, and he had only been here for a couple of days, so what would he know?

"What was that?" He looked at Arthur for some sort of answer. Arthur seemed to know a lot about the castle and everyday happenings that occurred within the walls, so Merlin had grown used to just turning to Arthur for answers whenever he needed them. But Arthur's facial expression concerned Merlin. Whatever that scream implied was not good.

Suddenly Arthur stood up and closed the trunk of clothes, pushing it under the vent to stand on and just barely see out the vent.

Merlin observed Arthur whose lips were pressed in that same worried line his mother always had. The scream occurred again, and Arthur's eyes squinted with sadness listening to it, but then, his eyes grew wide. Merlin watched studiously until his curiosity consumed him, giving him the courage to try and join Arthur a top the trunk. As he stepped up, Arthur quickly turned and put his hand on Merlin's shoulder shaking his head and looking about ready to cry.

"I…I'm so s-sorry Merlin" he stuttered through his sobs, and Merlin looked at him puzzled until he saw what was the matter. The source of the screaming…was his mother, and his mother was being dragged across the rough floor by a group of knights followed by a man that could only be recognized as the king.

"M…" Merlin mumbled ready to burst into tears and scream "M-MAmph" His agonized screams were muffled by Arthur's hand over Merlin's mouth.

"I'm sorry Merlin…but for now stay quiet and I promise I will save your mother okay?" Merlin nodded, starring at Arthur, as tears starred streaming down his cheeks uncontrollably.

Seeing his friend in this much pain forced Arthur to take off his cape, use it to wipe some tears off his friend's cheeks, wrap the cape around Merlin like a blanket, and embrace the boy in the warmest, most comforting hug he could manage. Merlin accepted the hug, enveloping himself in Arthur's arms as he cried, shaking. Arthur's sleeves were becoming damp, but he did not care. He felt that this was the least he could do. It was partially his fault right? All Arthur could think to do was repeat "I'm sorry. I'm sorry" over and over rubbing his friends back until he mumbled "this is all my fault."

Merlin paused his sobbing and looked up to Arthur red faced from his crying.

"Wha?...No it's not. How could this be your fault?"

Arthur covered his mouth averting his gaze anywhere away from the boy who was crying because of him. Arthur didn't really know what to say to him. He enjoyed not telling someone for once that he was the prince of Camelot. He felt that this way strangers would treat him more like a human being, and he loved feeling like a human. But in this particular situation, he would have to tell Merlin who he really was. That the reason he felt guilty was because the king was his father and probably arrested Merlin's mother for allowing her son, the peasant boy, to be able to play with the Prince of Camelot. But how would she know? How would Merlin know? They didn't. And that is why Arthur felt so guilty. His father had arrested Merlin's mother because of him. And his next target would probably be Merlin.

Arthur had not realized that he was shaking until Merlin had wrapped his arms around Arthur, causing Arthur to gasp and stare at the boy.

"It's okay…" Merlin sniffled, refusing to look up at Arthur "it's okay not to tell me what's the matter right now. My mother being arrested is hurting both of us…and I don't know why it is hurting you…but all that matters right now is that you promised you would save her…"

Arthur listened to those words in silence trying his hardest to stifle back tears that were threatening to leak. He almost won the battle until Merlin's next words hit him square in his heart.

"and that is why you're my bestest friend…"

Arthur hugged Merlin tightly, as it was now his turn to cry into Merlin's shoulder. And together, Merlin and Arthur sat on the dusty trunk, hugging each other as tightly as they could, crying.

XXX

Once Hunith's screams were no longer heard, and once both of the boys had both managed to stop crying, Arthur and Merlin began contemplating a plan to save Hunith from Camelot's dungeon.

"There is a secret passage that is near the end of the prison hall. I can distract the guards while you get your mother there." Arthur stoically announced, "and as soon as you get out, run to Gaius' place. He will hide you until this storm ends…and then once the storm ends I want you two to leave Camelot, got it?"

He looked up at Merlin who was staring at the poorly drawn map Arthur had drawn in the dirt shaking his head in agreement, and then looked up at Arthur with a slight smile on his face.

"You sure know a lot about Camelot's dungeons" He said it to try and lighten the mood, but the way Arthur's face twisted made it clear it hit some sort of soft spot.

"Oh…uhm…I'm sorry" He quickly muttered trying to erase his previous words. He just wanted to make Arthur smile again. He knew that this was a rescue mission for his mother and in general it was meant to be sad, but Arthur was really hurt by it, and Merlin didn't understand why.

"It's cause I'm the prince of Camelot…" Arthur uttered through Merlin's thoughts.

Merlin's brows knitted together in confusion, but he quickly began laughing once he realized that Arthur was just trying to lighten the mood too.

"Hahaha! Yeah and I am a warlock!" He giggled out the truth until he saw that Arthur was not laughing with him. And then it hit him like a sack of bricks.

"Is that why you feel guilty?"

Arthur gazed at Merlin, somewhat upset that Merlin wasn't surprised by the announcement, and nodded.

"My father probably found out about our playing and had your mother arrested for letting you play with me."

Merlin starred at Arthur, somewhat relieved that he knew what was upsetting Arthur now, and smiled, "now that's silly, why would your father not want you to play with me?"

Arthur looked down, erasing his drawing in the dirt "because you are a peasant."

Merlin clenched his jaw tightly wishing he had never asked. It had hurt him knowing that the king of Camelot wouldn't let his own son play with whoever he pleased just because they were peasants. But what had hurt Merlin more was hearing how much it had hurt Arthur saying those words out loud to Merlin. He bit his cheek and scooted closer to Arthur and hugged him.

"Thank you for being my friend"

Arthur had tried not to laugh but a small giggle escaped, and he punched Merlin lightly on the arm.

"Stop it. You're going to make me cry again" he smiled at Merlin and Merlin returned the smile graciously. He was glad to see his friend smile again.

"So if I was 'pretending' to be the Prince of Camelot, and now actually am the prince of Camelot, does that mean that you're actually a Warlock?" Merlin's smile disappeared and he bit his lip.

"Uhm…"

Arthur looked up to his friend from the dirt with a smile, but when he realized that Merlin was not smiling anymore he immediately fell into disbelief, mouth hanging open.

"no…" Arthur managed to stutter through his awe.

Merlin nodded, afraid to look up at his friend he know knew was the Prince of Camelot. The magic hating Camelot.

"That's so wicked!" Arthur yelled and Merlin snapped his head up to look at Arthur in surprise.

"You…You're not afraid of me?" Merlin asked completely baffled.

"What? No. Of course not. I mean, if you were a bad warlock then you would've killed me by now right?"

Merlin nodded with a laugh. His friend was smarter than his father, and he was only nine years old.

"hey hey" Arthur waved his hand in front of Merlin's face to distract him from his laughter "Show me a magic trick please?"

Merlin nodded excitedly and watched as Arthur's eyes lit up with happiness. It was now Merlin's turn to be in the spotlight, to be the cool kid. The roles were now switched, and to Merlin it felt good, so he needed to show Arthur a really cool magic trick. But what magic trick would he do? He tapped his finger on his chin while he thought about it. What to do…

**Question to the readers: I decided to end it here so I could try to bring you awesome readers into the story more! What magic trick do you think Merlin should show Arthur? Please leave your idea as either a review or PM! :D**

**A/N: I am sorry I did not update yesterday like I said I would, but I was babysitting, and babysitting an infant if I may add. For those of you who have babysat an infant before you probably understand why I did not update yesterday. Anyways…here's the next chapter! :D Do you like it? Was it sad enough? I hope I hit the 'sad' emotion well enough, that was my first time ever writing a crying scene…but whatever! Please continue to read and review lovelies! **

**Disclaimer: Hey howdy hey, you know what this will say.**


	8. Chapter 8

8-

Merlin's face lit up when he finally decided what magic trick he wanted to show Arthur. It only made sense what to do, Arthur's last name was Pendragon after all.

Arthur sat patiently as he watched his friend contemplate his magic trick. He had never seen magic in real life and had always wanted to. He had always wanted to see why his father deemed it bad, but he never had a chance to meet a wizard. That or every person he assumed was a wizard scared him, but Merlin was his friend, and he trusted him. So whatever magic trick Merlin was about to show Arthur couldn't be bad, could it?

"Alright, close your eyes" Merlin smiled and an excitement grew in Arthur as he covered his eyes with a small squeal.

Merlin blushed a bit with pride, watching his friend be the amazed underling for once, and held out his hands in front of him whispering one of his favorite spells "Aurea lux, de dracone"

"What did you say? What does that mean?" Arthur asked behind his hands.

Merlin giggled "Open your eyes and see you prat"

Arthur slowly, and nervously, removed his hands from his face. He had to wait a bit until his eyes adjusted to the bright golden light. Wait. There was no bright golden light in this room. Where on earth was that coming from? His eyes adjusted. There in front of him, a large golden dragon made of light danced around Merlin.

"Oh…my…word" I slight grin crept into the corners of Arthur's mouth as he stood there frozen in his place.

Merlin giggled again "Check this out" Merlin flicked his wrist sharply and the dragon started flying towards Arthur. Arthur instinctively covered his head, but when no pain came to him he peeked through his fingers and saw that the dragon was now dancing around him. Arthur began laughing and covered his mouth.

"Merlin…Merlin this is…this is amazing!" Merlin blushed at the complement and watched as Arthur began running around the room with the dragon floating beside him, laughing the whole way.

"I can't understand how my father could think magic is bad, this is…so cool!" He flicked his head towards Merlin and Merlin flushed. He wasn't used to receiving this much praise from anybody, and he couldn't quite explain it but, Arthur looked really…Merlin to search for the right word to describe it and found it. The way that the golden light reflected in those blue pools of Arthurs, and how his hair grew into a lighter shade of blonde that caressed his round, tan cheeks, he was absolutely beautiful. Absolutely magical. His whole face turned red as he averted his gaze downwards. Course he was pretty, he was a prince.

Merlin sighed as he wondered if that meant that Arthur saw him as ugly cause he was a peasant, but he quickly shrugged that off when he remembered that Arthur had a difficult enough time calling him a peasant. He obviously thought of them as equals; therefore, Merlin was as beautiful as Arthur. Merlin giggled at the new found confidence and finally returned his attention to Arthur who was playing with the dragon. Arthur reached out to pet the dragon, forgetting it was made of light, and once his fingers fell through the dragon's gold skin, the dragon disappeared into a collage of fireworks.

Arthur's mouth hung open as he watched the mini fireworks sprout around him and slowly disappear and then looked at Merlin with a huge smile on his face.

"Wow, I want to start to learn magic know"

Merlin laughed and smiled so genuinely happy he thought his heart would burst.

XXX

After Arthur had finally shaken off the image of magic he had just seen, he suggested that they actually do what they were supposed to be doing, saving Merlin's mother.

"So, how do we plan on sneaking past the guards at the prison entryway?"

Arthur tapped his chin as he pondered Merlin's question. It was easy enough for him to sneak in because he was the prince. The guards wouldn't be suspicious because they wouldn't know that he was affiliated with any of the prisoners, so he should be safe. Should be. But what about Merlin?

"Well…we could always ask Gaius about that one. He has a lot of potions and stuff that can knock people out for a good amount of time" but then he remembered Merlin's secret and shook his head like he was dumb "or you can just do magicy stuff to them?"

"Oh yeah! I think I know a spell that can erase someone's memory. We can just walk past the guards and erase their memory of us ever being there"

Arthur smiled to himself "Huh…so you actually do have somewhat of a brain"

Merlin lightly shoved his friend with a smile "I'll just have to borrow this if you don't mind"

Merlin pulled out the power ring he had found and showed it to Arthur.

"My magic isn't strong enough yet to erase someone's memory. But this'll help"

Arthur looked at the ring and shrugged like he didn't understand what was going on "For all I know you can keep it. I didn't even know what it was"

Merlin put the large ring on his thumb, because that was the only place it would fit, and stood up.

"Are we ready to go?"

"Yeah I think so…" Arthur stood up and went over the plan in his head making sure he wasn't missing anything.

"Oh wait…Merlin?"

"Yeah?"

"It's still raining outside. Aren't you going to be cold?"

Merlin had not thought about that. He probably would be cold, freezing in fact, but he didn't bring any extra clothes to Camelot, his mother and he weren't planning on staying here in the first.

"I guess I will be…but it's a sacrifice I am willing to-" He was interrupted by Arthur shaking his hand.

"There's no reason to be heroic Merlin, we will just stop by my room and grab you a coat. I think we're about the same size."

Merlin giggled evilly "Yeah because you're so short for your age!"

XXX

They were now walking to Arthur's room. Merlin was wrapped in a cloak and rubbing his arm to try and massage the pain out. _Note to self, don't make fun of Arthur's height again._

Arthur turned around a corner and loudly whispered for Merlin to hurry up. He did not want anyone to spot him sneaking around the castle. He did not need people seeing him playing with a peasant and telling his father. Lord knows what his father would do to Merlin if that happened. He lived in constant fear of tattle tales, and that was why once he had met Merlin he brought him to his 'secret room' so no one could bother them or find him out.

"In here! Hurry! Hurry!" He opened the large wooden door to his room and pushed Merlin inside quickly following.

"Alright, I have a couple of jackets and hats you can borrow" Arthur walked over to his dresser and started pulling out clothes as Merlin looked around Arthur's room.

Arthur's room was humongous! Way bigger than it needed to be for a boy his size. Merlin shook his head to discipline himself of those thoughts. He did not need Arthur hitting him again.

Merlin took off the hood to the oversized cloak he was wearing to get a better look at the decorated room. Everything was either red, gold, or dark mahogany. The colors combined together to create the illusion that the room was a lot brighter than it really was, and gave it kind of a homey feel. An overly priced homey feel, but a good one none the less.

"Here Merlin try these on" Merlin's thoughts were interrupted by Arthur shoving coats, boots, and hats in his face.

"Okay. Okay. Chill out" Merlin untied the cloak from around his neck and let it drop to the floor. He starred at it while he began trying on some of Arthur's clothes.

"Should I bring that for my mother?" He looked up at Arthur, now sporting a very warm, very well fitted coat.

"Hey that's a good idea I did not think about that. I'll grab a satchel to put it in" Arthur ran off behind his dressing curtain to retrieve the bag and Merlin completed his outfit with a fur lined hat and a pair of brown fur lined boots. All perfectly fitted.

He looked at himself in the mirror "Wow. I'm going to be pretty warm in this" He twirled in the mirror to check himself out and then Arthur walked back out and stuffed the cloak in an old leather satchel.

He stood up, hanging the bag over his shoulder, and starred at Merlin "You need a scarf or your neck will be cold"

Merlin looked in the pile of clothes on the floor for a scarf, but Arthur quickly stopped him with the sound of tearing fabric.

"Here use this" Arthur held out a square of red fabric he had just torn from his knight's cape.

"We probably won't see each other much after this anyways, so I want you to keep it as a memoir of me" He smiled at Merlin and Merlin took the piece of fabric hesitantly from Arthur and tied it around his neck.

"I knew you would look good in red" Arthur nodded in approval, causing Merlin to smile. Another complement from Arthur, he was spoiled. He touched his new gift that he would now cherish forever and tried to think of something witty to say.

"But my favorite color in blue" eh…good enough.

Arthur shook his head at Merlin's silly argument "then wear it with a blue shirt then"

Merlin laughed at Arthur's joke, but on the inside he was seriously considering making that his new fashion statement.

"To save your mother?"

Merlin smiled "To save my mother."

**A/N: Woot woot! 8 Chapters already! :D I want to thank MusicHawk5 for giving the suggestion of the dragon made of light and the fireworks! I loved both ideas so much I decided to write them both in so thank you again. I also wanted to use this note to reply to a review left by Rascal (Who was a guest so I couldn't reply), I just wanted to say that Uther flirting with Hunith was meant to be disgusting, but I just want to assure you that they WILL NOT be a couple. I mean, he had her arrested, so I don't think it is going to work out anyways. Also try to remember that this fanfic is like a prequel to the Merlin series so everyone is about 10 years younger than their show versions. I wrote Uther flirtatious towards peasants because that's how I imagined his younger self xD Anyways thank you for your review rascal and everyone else please continue to read and review!**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Merlin.**


	9. Chapter 9

9-

Arthur and Merlin were sneaking their way down to the dungeons as quickly as possible. Merlin's mother was down there, and they both were working to get her out of there before the King could, as Arthur put it bluntly, 'burn her at the stake'.

"Hurry up Merlin, we haven't got all day" Arthur whispered loudly before grabbing the boy's hand and dragging him down the steep stairway that lead to the dungeons and stopped abruptly in the middle of them to point at a couple of guards playing some gambling game.

"I need you to distract them while I open the door to the dungeon. Once I get the door open, that is when you use your magic to erase their memories okay?"

Merlin nodded and shifted his gaze from Arthur to the guards. They looked like a couple of dumb brutes. Wiping their memory would be easy.

Merlin shifted his gaze back to Arthur, balling his hands into fists, with a large smile on his face.

"Let's do this thing" And to that, the boys both ran down the rest of the steps Arthur ducking into a nearby hallway that would eventually lead to the dungeon door, and Merlin stepping out into the open foyer where the two guards sat. Merlin's burst of courage suddenly leveled out when the guards stood up towering over Merlin.

"Evenin'…" was all he was able to mutter.

"What? Are ya lost kid? This is no place fo a lad like urself" Merlin wrinkled his brow at the odd and foolish way the man talked and decided to go along with the question.

"I-I…yes…" He paused frantically searching for the next thing to say "where is…uhm…where is the-" He heard a click from behind the guards and saw Arthur wave the okay signal.

"Well? Get on wit it!"

Merlin glared at the man and both guards began stepping back, the other one even attempting to draw his sword. _Wow, _Merlin thought, _I must look really scary right now or something._

He started thinking of which memories he wanted to erase. With this spell he would have to be very specific about this or he would risk erasing their entire memory, and that would be more harm than good. _Okay, erasing memories of ever seeing me or Arthur down here on this day!_

The last thing the guards would see before they lost their memory was a little raven haired boy running past them and yelling "Animo extermina" before shooting two lightning bolts out of his hand causing them to stand in the middle of the foyer wondering what they were doing, like a couple of buffoons.

XXX

Arthur was trying to suppress his giggles until he knew they were out of earshot range of the guards. The looks on their faces were so entertaining to Arthur for some reason, and he really just wanted to burst out laughing right then and there, but he knew it would ruin the plan that they have already accomplished this far.

Merlin elbowed Arthur causing him to come back to reality.

"What?"

Merlin pointed at a guard who was asleep against a wall.

"Should we worry about him?" He turned to Arthur giving him a look of concern. Arthur shook his head.

"Oh come on, they are only really scary if they're awake. We don't have to worry" Arthur pushed Merlin forward and to his surprise heard Merlin let out a small shriek. Arthur laughed a bit.

"What was that?"

"S-shut up. Help me find my mom" Merlin walked ahead of Arthur to make sure he wouldn't see his embarrassed blush and scouted the cells for his mother. He did this for a while until he heard a whistle from the other side of the prison hall. Merlin turned and saw that Arthur was standing by a cell door talking to someone, more than likely Merlin's mother. He hurried his way over to the cell and saw his mother hold her hands out through the bars at the sight of himself and instinctively ran into her arms.

"Oh Merlin, my baby boy, I was so worried about you" She hugged Merlin tightly and Merlin cuddled against her happily. From the corner of his eye he saw Arthur smiling at them but with a hint of jealousy in his eyes. Merlin didn't know why Arthur would be jealous of this, but he didn't feel the need to talk about it right now.

Arthur interrupted them "Sorry to break this up, but we really need to go before the guards do a shift change" Arthur opened the cell door and put the key back on his key ring hanging from his belt.

"Right" Hunith smiled at Arthur "thank you, I have misjudged you Arthur" She walked out of the cage and Arthur tried to hide his blush with his hand.

"R-right…so Merlin is going to lead you out of the castle through a bunch of tunnels that are that way" He pointed showing Hunith so just in case Merlin got distracted for some reason she could lead them out to safety.

"Yeah! We are going to have to go outside too, so Arthur let me borrow some warm clothes. Oh! And we brought you this cloak" He took the cloak out of Arthur's bag and passed it to his mother who took it with a smile and put it on.

"Thank you Merlin"

Arthur went back to his escape plan starring at Merlin to make sure he was finished "and then…" when he decided Merlin was finished he set his sights back to Hunith "And then you and Merlin must go to Gaius'. I will explain to him what is going on and he will hide you there until the storm ends. Once the storm ends, then you have to escape"

Merlin looked down sadly at this and Hunith nodded her head holding Merlin's hand to reassure him. "Yes, thank you again"

Arthur nodded and suddenly all three of them snapped their heads towards the dungeon door that was now opening. Arthur panicked.

"What?! It shouldn't be time for a shift change just yet!"

From the doorway emerged the King with a murderous look on his face. Arthur knew that face well, that was the face he always wore when he was ready to execute someone. Arthur watched as his father looked down the hallway towards the cell where Hunith should be and his expression quickly turned into outrage. He ran down the small set of stairs into the hallway and there saw his prisoner, some peasant boy, and his son.

"Arthur?" His confusion quickly turned to outrage seeing he was with his prisoner "What are you doing?!"

Arthur flinched back and Merlin watched the scene while holding onto his mother. He was so scared. Why couldn't he move? He looked up at his mother and saw that she was equally as terrified. They needed to run, run as far away from this as they could, but they couldn't. Fear had glued their feet to the floor. And even if they did run, they couldn't run very fast, and they had no ways of protecting themselves.

Uther shuffled over to Arthur and picked him up by his collar "YOU WOULD BETRAY YOUR OWN FATHER?! YOUR KING"

Arthur looked to be on the verge of tears. He was scared too. Merlin had to do something.

"Put him down!" Merlin shouted it without thinking and quickly regretted it once the King's angry eyes locked with his own. He started shaking.

"Oh? So now a peasant boy thinks he can betray me too?" He released Arthur's collar causing Arthur to hit the ground with a painful sounding thud. Uther started to inch towards Merlin with a look in his eyes that Merlin felt meant he was ready to tear him apart.

Arthur flicked his head towards Merlin and Merlin saw the worry in his blue eyes. _It's okay, I can protect myself…I have magic remember? _Merlin hoped that Arthur had heard his reassuring thoughts, but he doubted Arthur suddenly gained telekinetic powers within the last minute, so he flashed Arthur a smile he hoped would give him just as must assurance.

"Don't you look at my son with those filthy eyes! Now I am going to have to burn you and this peasant woman at the stake!" Uther shouted. So angry that his face was a red as Camelot's flag.

"Merlin! Quick! Use the magic on him! Make him forget you, your mom, and your magic!" Arthur shouted from behind Uther and Uther starred at Arthur before starring at Merlin with a murderous glare in his eye.

"Oh so you have magic now do you?" He smiled a wicked grin and Merlin froze in place, ready to cry. He was to afraid to speak, even though he could protect himself. He just needed to say those two easy words.

Uther got ready to pounce.

"Merlin NOW!" Arthur screamed before completely giving up on Merlin protecting himself and started running towards his father.

_Just make him forget! Me, my mother, and my magic!_

Merlin began crying and finally got enough courage to scream through his tears "ANIMO EXTERMINA!"

A lightning bolt shot out of his hand and he could only hope it had hit Uther. He was to afraid to look at Uther to aim properly. A sudden relief filled him when he heard a loud thud hit the dirt ground near him. He opened his eyes to look at his handy work and stood frozen in place when he saw both Uther and Arthur unconscious on the ground.

"No…no he" tears threatened to leak again.

"He's probably just unconscious from a head wound honey" she gripped Merlin's shoulders reassuringly "I…I don't think you hit him, just Uther"

Merlin struggled out of his mother's grip and ran to Arthur pushing him lightly. "Arthur?...Arthur, do you…do you remember me?"

Hunith covered her mouth in suspense. In one way she was hoping Arthur didn't lose his memory for the sake of Merlin's heart, but on the other hand, she knew that this would just make things easier for everybody. Suddenly Arthur groaned and started rubbing his eyes.

"Arthur!" Merlin's expression turned from grave to ecstatic as he gave Arthur a huge hug.

Arthur opened his eyes in surprise and looked at Merlin in confusion "uhm…"

Merlin once again froze as he looked up at his friend with worry.

"I'm sorry but…who…are you?" Arthur had a mixer of contemplation and disgust on his face as he asked the question.

Merlin's lip began to quiver as he let go of Arthur. _No. No, this can't be happening. If only I had opened my eyes. If only I had not been scared in place…_Merlin burst into hysterics and Arthur sat there watching Merlin in confusion and slowly began to reach his hand out to pat the crying boy's back until he heard his father groan.

"Arthur…come read a story to me…" he groaned.

Arthur turned his attention to his father and shook him lightly.

"Father? Do you know why we are here?" He looked around "In the dungeon?"

Merlin's tears turned thick as he heard Arthur say this. He really had lost his best friend forever. Suddenly his mother picked him up and began to run. Her voice cracked a bit as she spoke her next words.

"I am sorry baby, but we have to get out of here" She held Merlin close and let him cry into her cloak as she ran. She was starting to feel really guilty for ever hoping that Arthur would lose his memory.

**A/N: I don't really have any good reason as to why I didn't update on Saturday or Sunday or Monday or Tuesday…. I just didn't. I feel really sorry though D: so for your troubles I promise to update tomorrow as well okay? Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I had a real fun time trying to figure out how this story could actually somehow tie into the actual Merlin BBC show, unfortunately, it was a kind of sad way :'( sorry. Please continue to read and review!**

**Disclaimer: I hardly own the clothes I wear, I doubt I own the rights to a show like Merlin :P**


	10. Chapter 10

10-

Hunith ran to Gaius' lab as fast as she could. She had to get herself and her baby out of the dungeons before Uther woke up. Even if Uther's memories had been erased, there was still a chance that he would arrest her again just for being in the dungeons without reason.

Hunith slammed open the door to Gaius' home revealing to Gaius a dirty and soaking wet Hunith.

"Hunith! Oh my word, how did you get out of the dungeons?" Gaius put down his work and ran over to his friend. Once he got closer he realized Hunith was carrying a petrified Merlin, whose eyes were puffy from crying.

"There's no time to answer that, you need to hide us Gaius. Hide us till the storm ends…I'll explain everything to you later" She looked at her son with a look of devastation. He looked absolutely withdrawn. He looked petrified to the point where one might think he had just witnessed a brutal murder right in front of his eyes. She was surprised he wasn't going completely hostile with anger and confusion by now.

She put her son down and noticed Gaius was staring at Merlin just as she was, but with a little confusion. To Gaius, Merlin looked like a ghost. His already pale skin looked almost transparent now, and his eyes were sunken in. It worried Gaius greatly, to the point where he was worried Merlin might need medical attention.

Hunith closed the door behind her and gave Gaius a quick look of 'I have a lot to explain' and then turned to Merlin "Merlin honey, please go get some rest okay?"

Merlin didn't show any sign that he had heard or registered his mother's request, all he did was slowly stroll through Gaius' workspace like a lost spirit.

Hunith watched him for a bit until she turned back to Gaius.

"Gaius, he…ooh how do I explain this?...He accidentally hit Arthur with a spell that erases a person's memory. Arthur does not remember him at all…" she wondered off for a bit remembering how upset Merlin was when he found that out himself, how upset he still was.

She looked back at her son and noticed that he now was holding the slip of paper that Arthur had wrote his name on. He starred at it for a while until the anger of himself boiled and made him crumple the paper and rip it to shreds. He let out a yell and cleared a nearby table of all its occupants watching them shatter to the in disgust. Hunith starred at her son in disbelief; she had never seen him act this way ever. Never seen him so upset over a friend.

"Merlin honey are yo-"

"Shut up! Don't talk to me!" tears started to form in the corners of his eyes as he yelled. He looked down at the table he had just cleared where his hands now rested. He glared at his right hand where on his thumb he saw the power ring he acquired from Arthur's chest. His eyes slanted with frustration as he tore the ring off, tossed it in the air, and set it ablaze until it incinerated completely. A smile crept on his face and he chuckled a bit.

"I must get rid of everything that reminds me of Arthur. That will make me happy again!" He began tearing off the clothes that Arthur had given him and threw them on the ground ready to set those on fire too, until his mother tackled him to the ground.

"Merlin stop this! You're being crazy!" she screamed, and he stared at her expressionless until Hunith started crying herself.

"Merlin, I know you are upset, but this is no reason to act out! Please, you can always remake friends with Arthur you know!" she wiped her tears and Gaius watched the whole scene unable to move or think.

Merlin's face cringed with frustration and disapproval "You don't understand mom, I trusted him so much I showed him my magic!" tears fell from his eyes and Hunith's expression turned into surprised remorse.

"I did not care that he was the Prince of Camelot! I did not care at all! He was my friend!" he closed his eyes balling, "I'm afraid mom. Afraid that if I do try to become friends with him again that his stupid father will get in the way again! I wish the King would die!"

Hunith covered her mouth. Merlin was so devastated by this that he threatened somebody's life. That was a first.

"Merlin! Surely you can't mean that! Just please, please forget about it!"

Merlin stopped crying for a moment and starred at his mother expressionless, "Forget about it?...That's a good idea" Merlin pointed his fingers at his head and Hunith watched completely perplexed.

"No. Merlin? What on earth are you doing?"

"Forgetting about this. Forgetting about Camelot, forgetting about Gaius, forgetting about the king…forgetting about this stupid spell, and forgetting about Arthur…" He closed his eyes and whispered "animo extermina…"

A tiny bolt of electricity sparked between his fingers and his head and when it disappeared, he began blinking and looking around the room.

"Uhm…" He looked at his mom "Why am I on the ground?"

Hunith weakly smiled at Merlin, "You fell you silly goose…"

Merlin smiled at his mother and laughed "Oops, I'm sorry, I probably gave you a scare. Huh mother?"

Merlin sat up stretching his arms high above his head and looked around the room again.

"Hey this isn't home. Where are we?" He looked to his mother for an answer and she just smiled kindly.

"We're at a merchant's house, to buy medicine"

"Is someone sick?" Merlin scratched his head.

"No, but it's always good to have some medicine I guess…"

"Well if you say so then it must be right" Merlin smiled at his mother cutely and she sighed in contempt that her son was back, but she knew she would always be haunted by memories of the time they were trapped in Camelot.

XXX

The storm finally ended about a day later. Hunith and Merlin were packing their bags for their long journey back to their hometown.

"Mama what is this?" Merlin held up the red neckerchief that Arthur had given him. Of course, he didn't remember that.

His mother grabbed it from him and looked at it for a while.

"Looks like a scarf of some kind. Not in my taste though. Do you want to keep it?" Hunith did not know exactly where the scarf had come from, all she knew was that she remembered seeing Merlin with it on when she brought him back here. See also remembered seeing him tear it off and threaten to set it on fire like he did to the ring he had received from Arthur, so she assumed that it was a gift from Arthur that Merlin didn't have the time to destroy.

"Sure! It looks kind of cool right?" Merlin took the scarf back and tied it around his neck. It actually complemented the outfit he was currently wearing of a blue shirt and brown pants.

Hunith smiled "Yes. Yes it does. Now hurry and finish your packing, so we can head back home okay?"

"Okay!" Merlin ran off to finish packing for the journey ahead of him. He passed Gaius in the doorway.

"You know you two are really lucky that nobody came looking for you" Gaius crossed his arms and leaned against the door frame.

"I know. I'm grateful that Arthur didn't tattle on us for being down there. He really is different from his father. I can't wait to see the day that he is king"

Gaius smiled at her "You and me both…uhm…how is Merlin holding up? Does he remember anything?"

Hunith closed her bag and threw it over her shoulders "Not a single thing. Although, he did have a nightmare about something last night and when I asked him what it was of he said that a dragon told him that because he cared for Arthur, and because of his magical abilities, it would become his destiny to protect Arthur when he is eighteen. How strange is that?"

Gaius raised a brow "A dragon told him this? Hmm…well I guess he must follow what the dragon is saying then"

"What? What do you mean?"

"Well, if a dragon appears in your dream that's a good omen. And if a dragon tells you to do something in your dream it is said that if you follow it, your life will lead to happiness"

"I don't see how protecting the crowned prince will lead my son to happiness"

Gaius chuckled, "I never said it was true. Anyways, please have a safe journey home"

"Thank you Gaius, for everything now, and furthermore" she smiled at him one last time before gathering the last of her supplies and finally heading back home with her son in tow.

**A/N: Just to let you guys know, there is going to be one more chapter until this is complete! So don't feel bummed just yet it's still not done! On that note, I can't believe it is almost done! This blows my mind! I don't want it to be done because once it is done I don't know how long it will be until I write again. I'm having difficulties coming up with another story to write, sigh. If you guys have an idea for a story that you always thought was cool but was to afraid to write, and you like my writing style maybe tell me through a PM or something? :D All the idea credit would go to you! Please help me, I'm desperate…Anyways, please continue to read and review! **

**Disclaimer: Still have the inability to own the awesome rights to Merlin.**


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